The Key

Lums, Dims, and Gems?

Every day we would go inside the portal and go just a bit farther and farther so we knew what we were dealing with. One day we walked so far in ,that when we came back to the portal it was closed! Either there was someone in our house, or we came back to the wrong location, but the portal was sealed shut. We did not know what to do! We were so lost!

My brother and I set up camp, while my dad went to find food. After a few days we finished making our little house. It was pretty cool! It was made of logs that my dad found sitting near a lake. It wasn't big, probably the size of my room back home. We used leaves to make beds. We kept fires outside, but a good distance away as to not burn the cabin down. I managed to catch a couple of fireflies for lights and every night they would glow and light up our cabin. 

My dad came back that night with exciting news. He told us that he found a village not too far away, and that we would get answers soon. I couldn't sleep that night, and I tossed and turned in anticipation just waiting to know what was held in the future.

I woke up to bird chirping outside. It seemed distant yet I could hear it clearly. I tip-toed outside and looked around, my eyes still adjusting to the light of the morning sun. Through the trees I could see a bird. Oh but this bird was like no other, it was the size of a TV! I instantly remembered the tiny cow and my brain clicked. So apparently in this mysterious land that my mother kept a secret, big animals are small, and small animals are big. Great now I have to avoid trying not to be crushed by  a worm-eating creature and stepping on what should be beef.

Later that day, my dad, my brother and I went down to the village. Everyone looked at us weird and kept making references about their Queen. What struck me as hilarious was that they were pointing and whispering at us for how they looked when really it should have been the opposite. They strange people were about four feet tall, had pointy ears, chins, and noses, and wore tunics. I mean come on! Doesn't that scream 'elf' to you?!?

The village was really small. There was a pathway going through the whole thing, with shops lining each side. Then the pathway split, one end leading to a bunch of odd looking houses, and the other leading to a castle looking like a mansion. How do I know that it was a castle? Simple. There was a sign in the middle with an two arrows, one saying 'castle' and the other saying 'houses'.

We headed towards the castle, most likely to talk to the Queen of this place to ask her how to get back. When we entered we approached an elf-looking person and I cleared my throat to get it's attention. The creature didn't look up so I coughed. Again no result. Finally I spoke up. 

"Ahem, we would like to speak to the Queen and we were wondering if you could lead us to her?" I nervously fidgeted with my necklace awaiting its response.

"The Queen is dead. We do not know how, so please do not ask. She was in the human world and never came back. Whatever you wish to know, ask me as I am her assistant." He finished eyeing us wearily.

"Um-uh...well..." I stammered. "Wait a second, you said that the Queen went to the human world. Was she human herself?"

"No she was a gem. Why?" he asked.

"What was the Queen's name?" I questioned, my hands growing clammy. I already knew how the Queen died.

"Mariana. Is that all you need to know?" he said, growing impatient.

That was all the information I need to know that their Queen was my mother. She went into the human world but never returned only because she was in that car accident. Tears sprang to my eyes, my mind flashing back to when I saw her in the hospital. Her skin a sickly white, purple underscoring her eyes, and her frail body laying on the hospital bed. Seeing as I was suddenly so upset, my dad explained our situation to the elf-looking creature and received an explanation. He explained the three different classes. The lowest class, was a lum. So a normal villager, they looked like elves. The middle class was a dim. The richer villagers, except they looked like humans but still had pointy ears. The highest class was a gem, totally human like. You could be looking at a gem and never know the difference. They were the royalty of the village.  My mother being a gem, passed her genes down to me seeing as I was female, which made me half-human and half-gem. Whereas both my brother and dad were normal humans. The creature was a dim. The dim then proceeded to explain that they closed the portal a few days ago so that no one could go back to the human world and everyone would be safe. The dim then made an announcement over what looked like a PA system that went over the village, and explained that the 'newbies' were related to the Queen and were to be treated like dims. Apparently we were too human to be treated like gems.

 We were sent upstairs and to three separate rooms. I stared up at the ceiling for what seemed like forever, and finally my eyes started to droop. I fell asleep instantly but one thing kept ringing in the back of my mind. If I was a half-human half-gem too, would I be their next queen?